Canberra T4 WE188 (LABS Trainer)

Thanks Rob : )
WE192 also got repainted in the short lived Red/White/Light Grey

When I arrived at Cottesmore in 1972 the oldest resident Canberra was WD944 which was 98sqn’s T Bird

rgds baz

Great photos Baz. And I never knew about the rudder lock party 😀

Sadly have drawn a blank on WE188, the closest is T.4 WE192 seen here on finals to Cottesmore in 1969 – not long after leaving Bassingbourn! (Photographer unknown)[ATTACH=CONFIG]236689[/ATTACH]

Rob

A couple of exterior shots…

Looking down at the brake unit one can see the green tint on the Copper Ring Brake rotors (4 separate ‘discs’ – but only 2 visible)

The gate guard Canberra at Cottesmore had its copper brake rings er ‘removed’ overnight – the guardroom must have been sleeping well as the a/c was only a few yards away.This was before the ‘outer’ picket post was in place !

Rudder Lock in position ( with retaining ‘pip’ pin on lanyard)

Ex Canberra ground crew will remember doing ‘Rudder Lock Party’ – if there was a high wind speed the pilots could not control the rudder on the ground – the aircraft was steered via differential brakes by squeezing the brake lever on the yoke and swinging the rudder bar to apply brakes to one wheel only (brake control valve was connected to rudder bar) or both wheels with rudder neutral.To be able to taxy – the rudder lock was turned upside down and it had a cut out so that the rudder tab could move sufficiently to allow the rudder bar to move enough for differential steering.
We used to follow the a/c down to the rwy threshold and take a set of ‘A’ frame steps underneath an engine – walk aft near the fuselage (engines still running LOL) and remove the rudder lock – we used to then walk forward under the stbd wing and open the crew door [first checking that the ‘DV’ window was open – thus no pressurisation ; ) ] stow the rudder lock in the cockpit – exchange pleasantries with the pilot and go for a coffee (nato standard)

And so to the Navigators cockpit,I believe that Canberra Navs were the only RAF Navs who wore a helmet but also had a Nav table to work at – this may have caused a few neck problems !

LH panel – note the LABS timer

Just above the fold down nav table

I have little knowledge of any of the nav gear – so if anybody can fill in any details I would be much obliged : )

Pig Stickers : )

After a quick shufti around the cockpit – I found the pig sticker – first time I had touched one since 1976,the B2/T4 had heavily mass balanced elevators which meant that the control column would naturally stay fully aft on the ground (if no lock fitted)
Because the T4 had a 3 position ‘Swing’ seat for the instructor (allowed navigator and pupil access) the control columns had to be locked fully forward – this was achieved with the ‘Pig Sticker’

Baz with Pig Sticker LOL

The Swing seat has been removed but you can see the fwd and centre latch positions on the floor !

Fantastic stuff, thanks for taking the time to share Baz! It’s interesting to compare this grand old 231 bird with our “last of the line” T4’s (WJ866, WJ874 and WH849) which had long since lost the UV coaming lamps and bakelite MkII cockpit lamps. I miss those old dears, I do hope ‘874 gets as well looked after at St Mawgan as Solway have done with ‘188, she looks a treat!

General cockpit view

L H Console

Instructors speed brake switch with 1,2 +3 tank fuel gauges on panel beyond (see below)

L P fuel c0ck and pump switches,stbd side rear cockpit – on the ‘bomber’ version these were on the stbd side front cockpit and operated by the pilot – on the T4 they would have to be operated by the nav who would have to liaise closely with the pilots as the fuel system was balanced manually !I remember in the 231ocu aircrew bar – there were cartoons on the wall of past students who had failed to balance the fuel system correctly and they were sweating trying to keep the tail up : )

The infamous rear Hatch detonator switch which caused great embarrassment to quite a few canberra navs when operated incorrectly and inadvertantly ‘Blew’ the Hatch explosive bolts on the ground !

Well there it is, still learning after all these years!
One of my last jobs before ditching the blues was putting together the training material for the Canberra Maintenance Training Section (CMTS) on 39 at Marham. I will have reproduced and disseminated the incorrect spelling of “fescolised” to a whole generation of unsuspecting Canberra newbies.. oh the guilt!! 😀

Somebody has asked me about ‘Fescalised’ LOL

We all tend to spell it wrong – it should be ‘Fescolised’ and it is a trade name used by Fescol ltd!

It is a plating process used for many engineering applications – for a/c usually the sliding part of the u/c leg (chromed appearance)

From the wonderful ‘Graces guide 1939’

Fescol Ltd
North Road, N.7, specialise in electro-deposited coatings for the Aircraft Industry. Their new works, one of the largest and best equipped of its type in the country, has separate departments allocated to the special needs of the Industry.
The work is mainly the well-known ” Fescolised ” coatings of chromium, nickel, and other metals. Chromium is used on undercarriage parts and other aircraft parts which need a surface of great hardness and resistance to severe forms of abrasion. Parts up to 10 feet long can be treated in the new Fescol Chromium Plant. The Nickel Section can handle parts up to 20 feet long. There is also a Cadmium Section for Aircraft and other purposes.

AFAIK Fescol is still going as part of British Metal Treatments/AJT

I will upload more pics later Timbo – glad you logged in on an opportune day : )

Be cautious googling Epstein Forging – you may get results other than Canberra main U/C pintle mounting LOL

Hope you cleaned your fescalised portion well Timbo : )

Ahh..not logged in to the forum in yeeears and the day I do I get treated to some Canberra smut! Thanks for posting Baz, the old T4 stirs many a happy memory, and my Grandfather was on the development team on LABS so it’s a double hit of nostalgia. Hehe Epstein Forging, not heard that in a while! Now that my Epstein is checked while I’m in the bay I’d better check my fescalised portion too 🙂 How I miss the eccentric language of Canberra riggerage!

Yes indeed – good on Solway Aviation Museum – we visited on the way up the M6 to jockistan.
To get cockpit access is fairly rare and my friend was delighted to end up in the Vulcan Captain seat : )
I purposely did not delve too deeply into the visible nooks and crannies or at the the Epstein Forgings etc !
The weather was very nice and we had a lovely couple hours at this very friendly museum…

Looks to be virtually complete and although it’s hard to tell in relatively good condition as well. Good on Solway Aviation Museum!

Rob

Eh – voila !

Left Hand (port) DV window (direct vision) – opened using knurled nut

LABS control panel

LH (pupil) Yoke

More pics would be much appreciated !

Rob

That would be nice Rob – I have more inside pics which I will post over the weekend.

I believe WE188 was painted in the short lived Red/White/Grey colour scheme during the 70’s (along with WE192 ?) – a great way to get a tan whilst polishing (with wadpol) the top surface of a light grey high gloss canberra wing for the annual AOC’s inspection – no elfinsafety in those days : )

rgds baz

Cheers Baz, always a pleasure to see photos of ex Bassingbourn Canberras – especially the insides.
When I get chance I’ll see if I have any pics of her whilst stationed down this way!

Rob